Consequences
by YIWT
Summary: Collection of oneshots about what might happen to Loki post-Avengers. This time: Odin may have to sentence Loki to death, but he doesn't have to like it.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This arose because of all the stories (including one I wrote) where Asgard decides to punish Loki in some horrible way, and Thor lets it happen. But the more I think about it, the more I think Thor is selfish and might instead figure: justice be damned, that's my _brother _we're talking about. So…**

**Summary: Thor hasn't fully thought through what will happen when he brings his brother home to face judgment. Not slash. And not too depressing!**

* * *

Thor dashed in and threw himself at the cage. "Loki," he said against the bars. Hoarse and unsteady. "I didn't know, brother I swear to you, I had no idea that this would happen. I only wanted to bring you home so that Father could set things right… I had no idea I was bringing you home to this."

Loki looked up slowly. The muzzle had been removed, but he had not seen fit to speak to anybody since his arrival. Not counting, of course, the noises he had made during the flogging. That wasn't really speaking anyway.

Thor continued in the silence, almost desperate: "I didn't know Father would be so cruel – how could I?"

Loki's mouth was dry, but he licked at his lips before speaking. "That wasn't cruelty, you fool," he rasped. He was surprised by the state of his own voice; he'd expected to be a little hoarse from all the yelling and roaring, but now he found he could hardly talk. "He meant it as a kindness."

"What?"

"People want blood. If the Allfather hadn't given them this," he gestured wearily over his shoulder with one chained hand, "He would have had to give them a gruesome execution. This way, at least I can be killed cleanly."

Thor's brow was drawn. "Cleanly or not… Brother, they still mean to execute you."

How did someone so stupid ever hope to become a king? "Of course. That is what I meant when I said _killed_."

"And… and you'll just let them?"

Loki snorted. "I wasn't aware that I had a choice."

Thor was silent a moment, searching his face. Then: "You knew this would happen."

He sounded almost _accusing. _"Yes," Loki sighed, too exhausted for anger. He would face the end calmly and with dignity – that was all he had the energy for anyway. "I don't claim ignorance, Thor. Everything I did, I did by choice, and I knew perfectly well what the punishment would be."

Thor swallowed. "Why didn't you _tell_ me?"

"Tell you what?"

"You-, you didn't tell me that I was bringing you to your _death,_" he stammered_. "_Loki… how could you think I…? You must know I would never have brought you home to this. However much anger had grown between us."

Loki kicked himself. It had actually occurred to him, down in Midgard when Thor first clapped him in Father's chains, that the idiot hadn't thought this all the way through. _I love you _and _come home with me, _Thor had been saying. He clearly didn't realize he was delivering his brother to execution, and all Loki would have needed to do was remind him: _I've done evil in the name of Asgard; you know what the penalty is._ He hadn't said it, because it had smacked too much of begging for his life, which he had promised himself he would not do.

"But you did bring me," he pointed out coolly. Cruelly. It felt good. "As I knew you would. At least this way you can insist it was an accident. Imagine how hard it would be to live with yourself, if you had to really own what you've done?"

Thor drew away, mouthing soundlessly, eyes wet, and Loki pressed on. "So, did you come to say farewell? You shouldn't have. It would be easier to forget that you killed your little brother if your last memory of him wasn't-"

"Loki, please-"

"-wearing the chains _you _locked on him in the cell _you_ dragged him to, and-"

"_Loki! _Stop it!" Thor shouted over him at last.

Loki stopped, and just gave a look of cold disdain. "Leave, Thor. If you're looking for comfort, you won't get it from me. I have better things to do with my last night than hold your hand and pretend to forgive you."

Thor faced away, head bowed, and stayed there for a while. Then, suddenly: "Loki… those chains bind your magic, do they not?"

Loki blinked. The grief had gone from Thor's voice; there was some energy to it now. "What?"

"Your chains. They-"

"-Bind my magic. Yes. Why?" He forbid himself to hope.

"Are you able to travel between worlds with your magic bound?"

"What do you mean?"

"If I-… Loki, we don't have much time, Heimdall will be hearing all of this." Thor spun around and grasped the bars again. "If I tear open this cage and battle our way through the guards, do you know of a way we could escape the realm? I will have to go with you; now that I see how Father deals with treason in his sons I would not want to stay here and experience it myself."

Loki could hardly believe what he was hearing. "Thor, think. Are you really-?"

"Yes: I will leave all this – my parents, my throne, my home. As angry as we are at each other, your life is more important to me than any of that. _Can we get away?_"

Loki swallowed. Nodded.

That was good enough for Thor; he raised his hammer and smashed through the prison and smashed through the guards who poured in to investigate the commotion. He grabbed Loki by the hand and they ran up the stairs together. He let Loki tug him down this passageway and that, running, and he panted _where are we going,_ but Loki only shook his head and reminded: _Heimdall,_ and wouldn't speak it aloud.

They reached the edge of the Bifrost, felled their pursuers, and had a moment before any new ones arrived. Loki stood bent over, catching his breath. "This is the only way I know without my powers," he panted. "I realize it's not a very attractive option. You don't have to come along."

"I will come." Thor swallowed and looked down into the void. "What happens when we jump?"

"We fall. Perhaps for a long time. It's empty and very cold. We see some terrible things. Eventually we stop falling, and land somewhere, and pray that it's better than what we left behind." He shook his head. "Our chances would be better without these," he said, jerking on his chains, "But I don't think we have time now to think of how to get them off. We can worry about it when we land."

Thor bit his lip. "Loki…" He drew a key out of his pocket. "I stole this." He unlocked one of the magical cuffs, and Loki felt himself bursting with joy…

…Until, instead of unlocking the other side, Thor snapped the open cuff onto his own wrist and shoved the key into his mouth. Loki watched in horror as he tipped his head back and worked to swallow.

"There." Thor clapped him on the shoulder. "I love you, brother, but I don't think I trust you just now. This way I _know_ that you will not leave me falling through the abyss alone. You will have your magic back once you land me somewhere safe."

Loki battled down a burst of admiration for the clever move, and tried to snarl. "I'll land you somewhere safe, and then I'll filet you like a fish until I find that key."

"You will not," Thor declared with certainty. "I've seen you use your knives, brother. When you want a man dead, he dies." He touched the wound on his abdomen, smiling a little. "This was what my Midgard friends would call a _love tap_. I knew the moment you gave it to me, and it was the first hope I'd had in so long that we were still-"

"_Shh!" _Loki tilted his head to listen. People were coming. "Hold on to your hammer," he instructed, "And hold on to me, and don't let go."

Thor stepped close and grabbed. "I'm ready."

Loki threw his arms around Thor's chest. He didn't say anything, but as he pulled them both over the edge he gave a squeeze. Thor could, if he wanted to, elect to believe that it was a hug.

* * *

**The End.** Let me know what you thought!

Also, news: Over the past few weeks I've been writing bits from the Rehabilitation universe, and they seem to be coalescing into one single narrative rather than a collection of one-shots. So it's possible at some point I will be doing a sequel – but if not, I'll still post some of these, cause I like em.

I've also been musing on two more bits of Forfeit. So that might get posted as well.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: This is a one-shot, NOT a continuation of the previous chapter.**

**If I had more time, it would be more than a one-shot, because I think it's an interesting idea. Feel free to steal it if the muses are talking to you. **

**Summary: Odin is reasonable... and Loki is Loki.**

* * *

Odin gave a detailed rendition of all that had gone on in Midgard, accurate for the most part except that Loki would not have characterized those creatures as _allies_ given the choice.

The hall listened, still and rapt. Loki was still as well – he found himself too nervous even to fidget; he moved as through molasses and sometimes had to remind himself to breathe.

When the tale was told Odin rose from his throne. "Loki," he said, loud enough still to be heard through the hall. "You will be punished." And then silence.

The injustice of that, the silence more than anything else, had Loki shrugging free of his guards to step forwards and protest. "_What_? Father, I deserve no punishment," he argued. "I rid us of those _things _that wanted only to spread death, and I did it without risking a single drop of Asgardian blood. Nor did I use trickery of any kind, as I know how distasteful you find it." _Except when it's trickery you've ordered yourself. _But Loki bit down on that; antagonizing the Allfather now would be simply stupid. "I led them straight into a fair battle and made sure they died there," he said. "You couldn't have planned it better yourself."

Odin's eye was narrowed. "No drop, eh? You risked yourself."

"I am not of Asgard. And I assumed the risk freely."

"You risked Thor."

"That was his own doing," Loki insisted. "Or yours. I didn't call him, I didn't want him, I did everything in my power to remove him from the scene. You have always been just in this, Father: do not punish _me_ for Thor's impulsiveness. I did all I could to prevent it. As usual."

Odin turned away. "I cannot deny that your words are truth to the letter. But they are not truth in spirit, Loki. Tell me that you understand this." _Tell me that you are not a monster._

Loki was silent for some time. It hurt, what Odin was asking him. On the one hand he wanted to snarl that of _course _he had a conscience… but on the other, if he admitted remorse he was admitting guilt, and admitting guilt was never a good way to go about escaping punishment. "I won't say I risked nothing of value," he admitted at last. "Or that the victory was bloodless – or that I thought it would be. I knew there would be loss on Midgard, yes."

Odin was nodding, grave. Too grave. His jaw was set and that was just how he had looked when he sent Thor away to _die_. Loki suddenly felt queasy. He cleared his throat and went on. "But taking a few human lives does not merit death. So you will not order it for me." His voice shook.

"I will not," Odin assured at once, and that was something. "But you acted with a brutality that I cannot condone. Cannot be known to have condoned. Other realms will hate and fear Asgard while you walk free."

Imprisonment – forever? Trapped and alone, never again to _live… _such a punishment would be little better than death. It might even grow to be worse, eventually. Loki went to one knee. He could hardly choke out words. "Their hatred and their fear will fade in time," he managed at last.

It was an eternity before Odin said, softly: "Yes."

Loki was dizzy with relief and also still sick, so he took a long slow breath to compose himself before talking again. "How long?" he said to the floor, and then looked up.

Odin crossed his arms over his chest. "We will find out how many mortal lives were lost to your plotting. They were only collateral damage, I know that, but they were damage nonetheless. You will pay for them. One year for every life."

The room tilted; Loki was swaying where he knelt. An awful lot of buildings had crumbled, with an awful lot of people inside. This was millennia. He tried to steady his voice. "One year of what?" Asgard was not known for the gentility of its dungeons. There would be darkness and cold and starvation, at the least. Perhaps filth and rodents if he was unlucky. Perhaps torture if he was unluckier still.

"The site of your crime will be the site of your punishment," Odin declared. "I will lock you away in a cavern beneath the earth of Midgard, so far from her air and her life that your magic will be useless to you. What power you do manage to summon you will need for more than escape; you will need healing. Your prison will keep you in constant pain, and you will starve and suffer until you've paid for what you've done." Another long pause. "Do you understand your punishment, Loki?"

He shook his head, trying to speak.

"I know it is harsh. But it is deserved." He sighed. "Say your farewells. Comfort yourself as best you can. I'll take you in the morning."

"Wait." Loki swallowed, looked up, tried to put his thoughts in order. "It _is _a harsh sentence, Father, it is a terrible sentence, but I know better than to ask you to lighten it for me. I have just one request."

"Go on." Odin's voice was neutral, even interested. He had not yet foreclosed the possibility in his mind of granting favors – he might yet agree. He _would._

"Some mortals – not all, but some – disdain penalties of this nature," Loki began delicately. "Some might perhaps sleep better if they forewent their right to vengeance, rather than piled years upon years of pain for me. Ask them. That is my request. Send someone to Midgard to converse with the friends of the fallen, or down to Hel to ask the dead themselves. I have no doubt I will be spending many, many centuries in the cave you prepare for me. But I do not want to spend any more time there than is necessary."

Odin cocked his head. "You would look to the Midgardians you slaughtered for _mercy_?"

Loki shrugged. "Some Midgardians are more bloodthirsty than others. Asking cannot hurt."

"That is true," Odin agreed at last. "Very well, I grant your request: any victim who wishes to spare you a year of your pain may do so. All would agree that that is justice." Odin's eyes were shining with something very like pride. "I will miss you, Loki."

"You'll see me again." _Perhaps in very short order. _He cleared his throat. "One more thing, Father. The mortals… dead or not, they will be frankly terrified of you. Even those who wished to show clemency won't do it; they will fear to disagree with the sentence you imposed. So, if you want the concession you've granted me to be more than just an empty gesture, you mustn't appear to the mortals yourself. They must be able to decide without the full force of your majesty to frighten them."

Odin, of course, nodded. No doubt he was remembering the last few times he tried appearing to mortals in recent times. All had been struck absolutely stupid with terror. "It is no empty gesture I offer. Hela will plead your cause instead of me."

"Ooh, Father, no." Loki's wince was only half pretend. "I can kiss Hela goodnight because she's family, but think: she is the most fearsome-looking-"

"Then who do you propose?" Odin interrupted, his patience thinning. "Any one of us, _any _Asgardian will terrify the mortals to incoherency. They are as worms next to us, and they know it."

"Mm. That is true." Loki stared at the floor. "_I _am no Asgardian," he offered, quiet and even. "Perhaps I should carry the message myself." A thousand thousand years of manipulations went into the earnestness of his tone, the roundness of his eyes. If Odin agreed then this punishment would be _nothing, _it would be over before the orphans he created had had time to bear children of their own. His silver tongue against the weak little minds of humans? He would have them renouncing year after year after year. They would offer to serve the sentence in his _place _if he wished them to.

But Odin's gaze turned a little flinty, and Loki was suddenly reminded that during all the eons he had been perfecting the art of trickery, Odin had been right beside him perfecting the art of not being tricked. "Father?" he ventured at last, nervous. If he had pressed too far, if Odin took away even what he had already granted… But at this point it was too late to turn back and retract the suggestion. Odin would smell guile all over him. "Father?" he said again. He projected innocence with every fiber of his being. "Shall I talk to them?"

"Look at me, Loki." Odin's voice was heavy with disappointment.

_Brazen it out. Look blank, no guilt, no plot, vaguely sad for poor dead Midgardians. Blank. Now._

They stared at each other for a long moment. But Loki lowered his eyes first.

* * *

The End.

Yeah okay so Loki still doesn't *get it* here; he's still clearly got ant/boot mentality going on. I'd kind of be curious about how that would change in le cave. Hm.

Let me know what you think! Comments are awesome.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: So, instead of judgment at Odin's hands... this time, Loki finds himself in Federal court in New York. A little bit of Law & Order knowledge is probably close enough to enable visualization here. Let me know what you think!**

**Also, in this story I imagine Loki having the power to read mortal minds at least to some degree. Dunno why.**

* * *

The first time he was dragged before a Midgard judge Loki had no idea what was going on. They dumped him in a small cage near the great hall (_courtroom, _he learned by probing the mind of the bored guard who was sitting outside his cage) and told him to wait his turn; there was another criminal ahead of him who had to go first.

He was mildly offended that he wasn't considered important enough to skip the line, but on the other hand, the sooner he was judged the sooner he would be punished. Waiting was probably a good thing, on the balance.

To occupy himself while he waited Loki looked around. There was another prisoner there too, in a different cage, and there were some worrying things in his angry little mind. One was the stray thought, aimed in Loki's direction: _Pretty boy like that, he'll be somebody's girlfriend aright._ That seemed worth following up on, so Loki ransacked the mind of the guard and discovered that it was not entirely uncommon – though not officially condoned – for prisoners to rape one another for purposes of sex or dominance. The best protections were gang affiliation, which he did not yet have, and brawn, which he did not have and never would. Wonderful. Well, he would think of something.

Just when he was starting to wonder how they planned to cram a rapist into this tiny cell with him, guards came to fetch him and bring him into the courtroom. He was sat down at a table beside a woman who tried to whisper to him and shake his hand, but she didn't look like an enemy and Loki was much more concerned with the people who did. There was a quick little man in a suit whose job was to accuse him, and guards who stood around ready to subdue him if he misbehaved. Not that there was much he could do, mortal and unarmed… but he found the presence of the guards gratifying. There were spectators, too, sitting in benches at the back. Many of them appeared very angry, but there was a short wooden barrier keeping them away, and for some unfathomable reason they seemed unwilling to storm it. Perhaps it was electrified?

Everyone clambered to their feet as the judge entered the room, and once things had settled again the audience started. The judge spoke into a microphone. "United States versus Loki Laufeyson."

He wondered whether he could get the judge to repeat the announcement minus _Laufeyson; _he didn't much like it and _United States versus Loki _had a marvelous ring to it. But before he could ask, the procedure moved on. The woman next to him stood and introduced herself to the judge as _appearing on behalf of the defendant_, and Loki laughed aloud when he realized that the poor thing was meant to be championing him.

He tugged on her sleeve and whispered: "Please tell me this is not a trial by combat."

The look she gave him was quite expressive, so he dug into her mind and discovered that trial by combat had gone out of fashion everywhere that was considered civilized. Who knew.

"This isn't your trial at all," the woman said at last, once she was seated again. "This is just arraignment, just... just the beginning of your case. Okay? Now there's no way in hell you're getting bail, so what happens after this is they take you over to the MCC – that's the jail. And then I come visit you, and we plan a strategy for your defense. Okay?"

Loki was frankly curious about what kind of _strategy _could be employed to defend him. He nodded.

Soon it was the turn of the quick little man in a suit to talk, and he did a very poor job in Loki's opinion, as he sounded bored and perfunctory, and there was no discussion at all of punishment, unless _remand _was a new type of Midgardian execution he had never heard of.

The judge made some noises, no one except the spectators exhibited any anger, and then the hearing was over. He was led away by guards in suits. They were courteous to him but still he couldn't help but notice that they wore telephone earpieces, but no armor. Was it more important for guards to stay in communication than to stay alive?

The cell they brought him to was in a different building and was rather like a small room, much larger than the holding cage he had waited for courtroom in. When he arrived the room was empty; he was told that his cellmate had a lawyer visit and would not return for half an hour or more. Bars and mesh made the window quite depressing, and anyway there was only the grey side of a building to look at, so Loki looked for entertainment elsewhere.

There was a book on the cellmate's bed which appeared to be a self-help manual for criminals preparing to stand trial. Since knowledge could only help him, Loki picked it up and started reading.

Some time later he heard footsteps and clanking, and he put the book down. Time to meet his new best friend or worst enemy.

* * *

The man was _enormous._ Tall and heavy, with hair down past his shoulders in ratty braids, sleeves pushed up to reveal forearms easily as thick as Loki's neck.

They stood staring at each other for a moment, and then Loki's nerves frayed and he said, all in one breath: "I should inform you I have received penetrative sex from a stallion the size of a bus and so if you're hoping to intimidate me with whatever pathetic little tool you've got hidden in those ugly trousers there I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed, because I can assure you I will not be impressed."

The prisoner's forehead creased. "Huh?" he said at last.

Loki dove into his mind to learn the style of his thoughts, and tailored his message accordingly. "I once fucked a horse. So if you show me your cock I'm only going to laugh at it."

A long minute passed. Finally the man snapped: "Where you went to college at."

Loki's turn to stare in stupid confusion. "What?"

The man heaved a sigh and rolled his eyes. "Where. Did you go. To college?" he enunciated carefully, and this time Loki understood that it was meant to be a question.

"Oh. Beg pardon." He mind-read from a guard down the hall to find an institution that was prestigious, because he deserved it, and also foreign, in order to explain why he didn't know the first thing about the city around him. "Oxford."

"Yeah. Aight." He was nodding, apparently very satisfied.

"My name's Loki."

"Low-Key? How you doin Low-Key. I'm Efony."

Didn't sound like any name Loki had ever heard before, but then, he supposed he was rather out of touch with modern names anyway. "Hello... Efony."

Another eye-roll. "Ayn-fuh-nee. Wit a T-H."

"Ah, sorry, of course. Anthony."

"You wanna help me wit a motion? I'm wri'en it myself, I got it all wrote out aready, but I know I ain't write it real..." He groped for a word. "It ain't..."

"Coherent?" Loki could not for the life of him understand why Anthony spoke as if he had marbles in his mouth; his _thoughts _were not so strangely accented. "Certainly," he said, and jumped down from the bunk. "I'm an excellent writer and I'd be happy to look over your work. But – forgive me, but isn't that something your lawyer is supposed to do?" The defense manual was proving useful already.

Anthony shook his head, laughing softly. "Man, you new. You gotta protect y'self, man. These lawyers... they do what they gotta do, an you gotta do what you gotta do."

Loki touched his mind again. Anthony had been in prison several times before, and had dodged prison several times in addition to that. He could be a valuable source of information, even more so if Loki could get freely at what he knew instead of having to dig around for fragments of it in his drug-addled head.

"Anthony, how about this. Let's make a deal," he proposed. "I'll help you with whatever you're writing, and then, we'll talk about _my _case and you tell me what you think I should be doing to protect myself. How does that sound?"

A slow, ponderous nod. "Aight."

* * *

**The End.**

**I kind of think Loki would do just fine in our criminal justice system. It's pretty much as crazy as he is. In fact, this story is dedicated to a couple of defendants I've known for whose behavior there is absolutely no better explanation than that the God of Chaos was whispering in their ear all along.**

**And, I don't really think I'm going to continue this, even though I do think that an attorney-client visit with Loki would be gallons of fun. I just have no idea where the story would be going and it would likely descend very quickly into crack, so this is it unless sudden inspiration strikes.**

**Let me know what you think! Next I'm contemplating one where Odin comes down pretty squarely on Loki's side. I usually write a pretty harsh Odin and I want a change.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: This is my version of Odin trying his bestest at A+++ parenting. He's still Odin, though. :-/**

**But at least there's no favoritism here. If the boys are treated differently, they've earned it.**

* * *

The great hall was full – everyone of consequence had come to witness their return. Thor led Loki in, a hand on his elbow, as much comfort as precaution. Loki was helpless given the enchanted chains and muzzle, and surely it must be difficult for him to be dragged before the court thus, defeated and disgraced.

When they reached the foot of the throne, Thor waited, holding his breath, readying himself to intervene if the sentence were too cruel. Father _would not _order execution. He could not.

But Odin's first words were for Thor. "Are you trying to make mockery?" he hissed. And _then _he turned to Loki. "How _dare_ you appear before me looking so ridiculous."

Thor's jaw dropped at the injustice; it was not Loki's choice to be bound and silenced! "I have the keys, father," he began, but Odin snapped his fingers and his voice stopped up in his throat.

Odin ignored the keyring, and only glared at his younger son.

Loki stared stone-faced for a moment… and then rolled his eyes. The gag vanished from his face a moment later; the chains melted from his wrists. "I beg pardon, Father," he said smoothly, "But Thor was most insistent. I did tell him that the precaution was useless. As well as silly."

"You-…" Thor cleared his throat to rid it of the remnants of Odin's spell. "You could have…?"

"You always have underestimated my powers, brother."

"Thor: silence." Odin enforced it with a gesture, a sharp slash of magic through the air. "Now, Loki," he said, and Loki stilled at once. "You have done terrible things."

Loki only looked mulish, and Father didn't look to be feeling generous, so Thor coughed hard and managed to interrupt again. "Father. Please hear me," he croaked. "I would ask mercy for Loki. He need not be killed or locked away. Surely you have the power to strip him of his sorcery, do you not? If you did that, he could be allowed to go free, no longer a danger to-"

He stopped abruptly when Loki bent and vomited all over his boots.

* * *

"Brother?" Thor was saying. "Brother, are you unwell? Loki?" And he was _touching,_ putting his _hand_ on Loki's back, and the touch made Loki sicker and he threw up again, only this time his stomach was mostly empty and it was just wrenching, wracking spasms that brought him to his knees and then to all fours. He couldn't stop.

His _magic._ The sense he relied most on in his life, the thing he needed more than eyes or ears or limbs, the current that coursed through him so strongly it would burn his _bones_ without an outlet. His _magic._ Thor would stand over him now and pretend to be concerned, and at the same time propose to cripple him, to ruin him in the worst way possible, to rip away what made him himself.

_Death first,_ he managed to think through his panic, and the thought helped. Death. If Odin actually ordered this atrocity, he would kill himself before they could enact it. Surely he would have time: he could conjure a dagger and cut his own throat, or dispense with the weaponry entirely and just burst all into flames. Painful, but he would die _intact._

"Loki? Hush, Loki, no. Listen. Listen." _Odin, _he realized at last, kneeling beside him, rubbing his back, draped over him in a way that felt intensely protective. If only he could be sure…

"No," he whispered. He couldn't even bear to speak it as a question.

"No," Odin agreed at once. "Of _course_ not, Loki, how could you think that?"

"Thor…"

"Thor is a fool; he doesn't understand. Magic isn't a part of him. But it is of me, and I swear to you I would never, _ever _do this thing to you. It would be an abomination. I would never allow it. I would smite anyone who tried."

That sounded quite definitive. Loki knelt up and winced down at the mess he had made. He reached for a spell to clean it up, but Odin was already doing the same and their magicks sparked together when they touched.

Odin's lips twitched and he leaned in to press a kiss to Loki's temple. "Oh, _Loki_."

Loki was still feeling too shaken to smile, but he did manage to look around and notice that Thor was standing and watching the whole thing in absolute bewilderment. "He doesn't even understand."

"I'll explain and he will. He'll feel the same horror we do, and he'll beg your pardon from the bottom of his heart." Odin looked up. "Go wait for me in my room, Thor. I'll be there in a few moments."

"After you're done punishing me?" Loki guessed. He gave permission with an exhausted wave. "I'm ready. Do what you like. Just… not that."

"You're _not _ready. You look terrible. Take a bath and eat something. We'll discuss it in the morning."

He let Odin help him to his feet, but then hung on to his arm. "Wait. Father, you know I won't sleep if you leave me to dread it all night. Please, just… just tell me. Whatever it is. I'd rather know."

Odin shook his head. "You are so concerned with your punishment, Loki, but it's the crime that is important. You killed without reason – and I raised you better than that."

Finally, _finally _Loki felt the beginnings of guilt. He looked into Odin's eyes to make sure Odin took notice; it would surely help him. "I'm sorry, Father."

"No… you aren't sorry enough." He sounded resigned. "I have failed you somehow, failed to teach you. You don't realize the gravity of what you did."

"I do," he protested, knowing immediately that he did not.

"Leave me. I still have your brother to deal with."

Loki gave him a sheepish smile. "Jumping right from curing my stupidity to curing Thor's. What a difficult night you're having."

Odin's eye was suddenly _piercing. _"_Thor's_ was stupidity; you were willfully barbaric," he snapped. "And Thor's I put a stop to before it was consummated. Get out."

"Well-…" Loki groped but there was nothing to defend himself with. He fell back on: "I am sorry." Perhaps if he said it enough times it would start to sound true. Perhaps it would even _be _true.

Odin gestured to where he'd knelt puking a few moments ago. "I may have the composure not to empty my stomach on the throne room floor, but what you did makes me just as sick."

That was harsh. "Father…"

"It was _sickening. _And if you don't understand that for yourself, I don't think punishment will help you." The single eye moved over him briskly. "You… lack something."

Odin was _wrong; _whatever it was Loki was supposedly lacking was hurting, now, quite a bit. There was a physical pain in his upper chest, and it was starting to choke him. He realized he was going to cry. "I'm sorry-"

"And you should know, Loki: I thought long and hard about casting you from my home. Disowning you." Loki gasped for breath, trembling, skin prickling all over, _freezing_. At last Odin sighed. "I thought about it, desired it even, but I knew it would be a lie. For good or for ill you are my son. I wish you would stop doing things that make me regret it." He caught Loki behind the neck and kissed him again, on the forehead, wearily.

"Father, please…"

"Now go. I will talk to your brother."

"I'm _sorry_… I won't do it again," he promised.

"I said go, Loki."

Loki went. He comforted himself with the thought that this scene would never be repeated; he really _wouldn't _do it again. And hopefully the next time he got into trouble Father would be easier on him. Maybe a blood eagle or something.

* * *

**The End.**

**So, this is Odin bringing his A-game in my view. Okay he's a couple of centuries late because Loki has been allowed to grow *way* out of control, but one way to teach tiny sociopaths (ie, kids!) about right and wrong is to heap disappointment on them until they internalize what it is they're not supposed to do. Hopefully this will help Loki get the message. And I don't think it was *too* mean, considering what Loki did. I think Odin mixed his mad-face with enough hugs for it to qualify as _tough love._ (Or _almost _enough, anyway. I think Loki would explode of confusion if he ever actually got as much affection as he needed.)**

**What's up next: Um... as much as I intended to be done with Forfeit, my porny muses have gone ahead and infected my brain with 2 more chapters of it. So, that's probably what is up next. After that, I may post one-shots from the Rehabilitationverse, but the problem with that is I'm afraid to get sucked in again. So I'm not sure. I also have an entire headcanon for Loki In Jail laid out, but I haven't started writing that yet. Bottom line is, porn next, and after that I dunno.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Slight AU for the Battle of New York: Loki comes to regret having dropped Thor off the Helicarrier.**

* * *

Tony was knocked out of the air by a blast of _something –_ magic, it must be; it didn't feel like any explosion he'd ever felt before – and landed on his back in the rubble. He started to stand, but then someone was dragging him up to pin him hard to a wall.

_Loki. _

The god looked around and his eyes were bright – manic and mirthful. "Now, why doesn't my brother come save you, I wonder?" he mused, showing teeth in what was almost a smile. "Could it be you're not quite as important to him as you thought? Could it be he's too drunk on the joy of battle to give a damn about what's happening to his allies? How unfortunate for you. I'm sure he'll make a marvelous toast at your funeral."

Tony frowned inside the suit. The spite seemed real, and so did the flippancy. Loki didn't care. "Could it be he's _dead_?" he snapped back, angry all of a sudden. Point Break there might have been kind of a bully, but still. "Your own brother. Show a little fucking respect, why don't you. Even _animals_ do better than this." Contempt came through the speakers really well, as it turned out.

Loki flinched. "What do you mean," he said fast. Suspicious. All of a sudden the mirth was gone, and the mania grown to portions that scared even Tony Stark. "What do you mean, what are you talking about – where's my brother?"

"You know damn well where your brother is, Rudolph. Six feet under."

"What are you – _Don't play games with me, Stark!_" Abruptly Loki was shoving, _slamming _him against the wall, hard enough to crack it. The suit whirred and beeped in protest, and his head hurt, but Tony was a lot more concerned with the glowing batch of rage and crazy that had exploded in front of him. "Lie once more and I will crack you like a lobster and I'll peel the meat out in strands." Loki's voice had gone raw and raspy. "_Look at me, man of iron, and answer true. _Where. Is. My. Brother?"

Tony swallowed, trying to get rid of the visual. Loki was breathing hard into his face, and the suit beeped at that too, because his breath was _freezing, _like liquid nitrogen freezing, and it frosted Tony's lenses til he couldn't see. Loki's grip tightened, metal creaked, and at the thought of those lobster-crackers with the serrated jaws Tony shuddered and forced himself to speak up. "You dropped him out of the Helicarrier. In the cage. Remember?"

Loki let go, swallowing hard himself. "He fell to earth. That would not kill him," he said at once, with quiet intensity. As if wishing it could make it true.

For all Tony knew it sometimes _could; _Loki was a god after all. But this time he knew better. "Have you ever put an egg inside a jar... and shaken it?" He demonstrated the gesture, and Loki's eyes were glued to his gauntlet, wide. "Thor was _painted _on the walls of that cage. I'm not even sure there's enough of him left for a pyre."

"No – _No!_" Loki turned away, holding his head. "_No_, it can't be, not Thor, he never-... of course he's all right, he's _always _all right..." He spun back and shoved at Tony again, but weaker this time – more desperate. He was pleading. "I have to see him. Take me to him. Take me to my brother."

Tony glanced up to watch Chitauri riders zoom past in packs. "Uh, dude... we're kinda in the middle of a battle here."

"A-? _Fuck _your battle!" Loki threw his scepter down and gestured to it. "There – battle's over. Close the portal with it, command those things to fall on their own swords, no more battle. Now _take me to my brother, _Stark! Do it!"

Tony spoke fast into his comm, relaying the situation, calling for backup. He bent to pick up the scepter – carefully, as Loki was still breathing hard over him and looking anything but stable.

Once he had the scepter safely out of the god's reach he proposed: "We go to the top of my tower. We clean up this mess. And _then _I take you to your brother's body. There's no rush, Loki," he added, a little less harshly. "Thor's long dead. There's nothing you can do about it now. Come on – hang on."

He offered a hand but Loki ignored it, throwing arms around his neck instead. "No. It _can't be,"_ he said again, muffled by the suit, as they flew. "It can't. I can help him. I have power like you've never seen. Unlimited power. I do."

"What part of _puree _are you not understanding?" Tony said, but with the mic off. The last thing he wanted was for Loki to let go. If he lost track of the little asshole now after all this...

He landed on top of the tower, scepter in hand. "Slide it in there," Loki said, looking blank and shell-shocked. "I had it built with an off-switch. In case I changed my mind."

Tony did as he said, pushing the scepter into the force field, fumbling around until the portal beam went away. "And now...?"

"Now hold the scepter and order them all to die. Will it."

Tony stared stupidly.

"Oh, for-... Give me." Loki reached out, impatient.

The others would arrive any second. If Clint shot first and asked questions later, they might lose any chance to sort this out. Tony handed over the scepter, ready to blast him on his ass...

But Loki didn't turn sinister again. Instead, he widened his stance and closed his eyes, and when the tool started glowing he bared his teeth in a snarl. A moment later Chitauri racers began falling out of the sky.

"There," he said, and dropped the scepter. "Now they all long for death, and they're killing themselves to make it happen. Now _take me to my brother._ I'll go as your prisoner. Take me." He held out his wrists and waited.

He seemed saner now, calmer. Which was almost too bad; sanity was not going to do him any favors once denial wore off and grief really set in. "Is there even any point cuffing you?" Tony asked. "You could always just erase them, right?"

"Yes but it will make your humans feel safer and I want no more delays. There. Take me now." He sparkled with power a moment and then he _was _cuffed, big dungeon-looking metal shackles at his wrists and ankles.

This was against his better judgment, it really was, but Loki's shock seemed genuine. "Okay. Uh, c'mere." He bent and scooped the god up like a damsel in distress, and Loki lay disturbingly still in his arms. Mouth pressed shut and eyes wet.

The flight was mostly silent. Tony had plenty of commentary about the buildings smoking beneath them and the wounded civilians' screams, but he kept the mic off for all that, because even Tony Stark had his limits of assholery. All he said was: "Hey, Loki. I'm sorry about your brother."

* * *

**The End. **If you want this to be less depressing, just imagine that Tony was lying. He totally might have been, right? *sniffle*

Let me know what you think!


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Post-Avengers Lokiwhomp. This is in response to a kinkmeme prompt that asked for public and preferably sexual humiliation in connection with this picture:**_ fuckyeahthorloki DOT tumblr DOT com/post/21863300744/sew-up_** The picture is gorgeous, though disturbing, and because I've had a *brutal* few weeks at work I went ahead and filled the prompt. It's so disgusting that I'm not going to post it all here (I'll do it anon somewheres eventually), but I figured this little section – which takes place after all the horrible – is not unreadable. So, in order to reassure you guys that I am still alive and still writing, here it is. Sorry to keep you waiting for the last bits of Family. I'll do my best to post soon.

**WARNING: Takes place after a bunch of horrible shit. But there's nothing explicit here as to what, other than that the lips-sewn thing clearly happened.**

* * *

"Kneel, brother."

Loki did, slow and stiff, his breath hissing worse than ever. He went to all fours and bowed his head.

"Loki." Thor held out his hand, palm down.

When Loki finally looked up and saw what was required of him now, his chest heaved and he swayed where he knelt. His gaze was pure hatred, eyes red and wet but burning with an intensity Thor had never seen.

But Thor did not waver, and at last Loki's sense of self-preservation won out over whatever vestiges of pride still remained. He crawled forward the last few feet, grasped his brother's hand, and bent his head over it.

Thor almost flinched at the press of the ruined lips, but then Loki moved the hand to his forehead... and that was even worse. Now he could feel cold sweat and hot tears, and Loki shaking.

He reminded himself firmly of what he was doing and why. Steeled himself to keep his voice steady a little bit longer. "Much better," he growled, loudly enough to be heard. He stepped closer and rested his free hand on Loki's head, keeping it bowed. "You begin to learn your place. Good." He looked up, marking the faces that looked problematic. "Loki will be taken for further chastisement in private," he said. "You may not see him for a while. But when you do, I expect you to remember this. Remember what was done today and why, but also, remember that when he appears again at our table he does so _at my pleasure._ When his lips are freed to speak he does so _with my permission._ When I deem his punishment over it _is, _and I will not take it kindly if anyone should second-guess me by subjecting him to cruelties beyond what I have ordered. Is that clear?" He signaled for guards. "Now take him to my chambers."

Loki let go with a sob, fell to all fours again, prostrated himself on the floor. It was unclear whether it was prompted by fear or by gratitude, but Thor supposed either would be appropriate. He watched impassively as the prisoner was hauled to his feet. "Chain him well and leave him on the floor by the window. _He had best be waiting there for me _when I arrive."

* * *

The End.

At least until the whole awful thing gets posted somewhere. The scene that precedes this one is super nasty, and the one that follows is *failed* h/c. Can you get any more depressing than that!?

Let me know what you think!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Post-avengers. Odin is kind of a troll here. I don't know where this random little ficlet came from - sorry!

Loki Season

"Loki." Odin's voice was heavy. "The evil you have done cannot be forgiven. You deserve to die - that is justice." He sighed. "However. You are my son, and I find I don't wish to kill you myself. Nor to order it done."

He stepped back and raised his voice, so that it echoed all through the hall. "I now strip from this man his station, and the protection of my name," he declared. "He is under sentence of death. Any Asgardian who wishes to carry out that sentence may do so. From this moment forward, so be it."

He rapped Gungnir on the ground and said, without looking: "Loki: run."

For once in his life Loki seemed slow to grasp the situation - he wasted a moment staring with his mouth open, and when he finally did take action, it was only to lurch gracelessly towards the door.

The warriors of Asgard moved with more purpose; someone roared "Kill him!" and suddenly Loki's way was barred. He threw the first attackers back with a powerful blast of magic and drew his knives, but he was being forced back, and before long would be trapped full in a corner.

"Father. This is no different than if you executed him yourself," Thor said, desperately. "You must do something."

"You don't think your brother is capable of defending himself against all the warriors of Asgard at once?" Odin asked mildly.

"Are you-? No!"

"Then perhaps you had better help him."

* * *

The End. Like I said: random.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Saw the Thor 2 preview. This popped into my head, for the loki-in-jail scene.**

* * *

"When you betray me," Thor said clearly, "I will kill you. Believe that, Loki."

His brother rose slowly from his seat. Walked up to the glass. "Oh, I do," Loki said. "And I accept – on one condition."

Thor swallowed. "Name it."

"The list of people you have obliterated with Mjolnir is almost endless." Loki was quiet and unhesitating. "You kill them without a thought, and then later on as you clean your armor you wonder where the bits of skull and hair have come from. I don't want to join those inglorious ranks, Thor. When you kill me, I want you to remember it."

Thor frowned at him but did not know what to say. Loki went on. "I want you to do it with your bare hands," he said. "Around my neck. I want you to choke the life out of me with your own body. I swear I won't resist you. But I want to feel my death coming over me – and I want you to feel it too. Looking into my eyes. That, I think, you won't soon forget."

An even longer silence. Then, suddenly, he stepped back and flashed a wide grin. "Do we have a deal?"

"Loki..." Finally, Thor found his voice. "Brother, I don't understand..."

"You don't have to. Those are my wishes – and you will agree to them, or I won't take one step towards helping you. It's the _end _of my _life,_ Thor, the last thing I will ever know. I think I'm entitled to have strong feelings about it."

Loki might be mad, but about this he was clearly in earnest. Thor palmed the lock and let the glass wall melt away. "Come here, brother."

Loki stepped forward, and did not resist when hands settled gently around his throat.

Thor shifted to find a grip that was comfortable. He applied pressure until the sound of Loki's breathing grew a little harsher, looking unblinking into Loki's eyes.

"Very well," he said after a moment. He let go and moved away. "I can and I will: I swear it."

If Loki was surprised, it did not show. "Good," he said lightly. "Then, let's get started." As they left the hall together he matched his stride to Thor's, as always. "And let's look on the bright side, brother: perhaps I'll keep faith with you, and you won't have to kill me at all."

Thor would not turn to look at him. "Perhaps."

* * *

The End.

For those of you curious about Family, new chapter is about half done and I'm planning to get it up this weekend.


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